


Fast Cars

by colls



Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-09
Updated: 2010-01-09
Packaged: 2017-10-07 22:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/69750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colls/pseuds/colls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cam and John decide to stop pretending nothing is going on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fast Cars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [skieswideopen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skieswideopen/gifts).



> Written for [](http://community.livejournal.com/sg_flyboys/profile)[**sg_flyboys**](http://community.livejournal.com/sg_flyboys/) 2010 Thing-a-Thon

The view of San Francisco was stunning and quite an unexpected sight to see while standing on one of the balconies of Atlantis. Combine that with a beautiful day, and the team lingered outdoors longer than usual. Eventually, Teyla asked Woolsey about getting permission for her, Kanaan and Torren to leave the base. The two of them returned to his office to work out the details and the crowd began to disperse. John watched Amelia lead Ronon back to the infirmary and half listened to Rodney and Jennifer making plans for getting a few days off. Suddenly he felt alone.

He turned to leave when Rodney stopped him. "What are your plans?"

"Oh I'll just hang out."

"Well, would you like to," Rodney turned to Jennifer and back to John, "you know, join us maybe? We could always ask Jeannie if the couch is clean enough for company. I don't think they let the dog sleep on it anymore. After that we were going to..."

"I'll be fine, Rodney. You two go along and have fun."

Wandering through the hallways, he encountered dozens of people he knew. All of them animated and excited over the unexpected trip home. Recent events, while unpleasant, had given them an opportunity to spend time with family, friends and loved ones. Or lovers. Yes, he felt very alone.

And that just pissed him off. John wasn't some romantic fool who was 'looking for love'. He was a soldier with a duty, and he liked to think he did a pretty good job. The marines respected him, the civilians seemed to respect him. Hell, people on other planets respected him. He had become close friends with his team - so much so that he considered them family.

John didn't need some complicated dating mumbo-jumbo breaking his concentration anyway. Just because he was alone didn't mean there was something wrong with him. He wasn't a broken man like he was in that other reality - he didn't even like Vegas. Ok, he was kind of broken. But just in some places, not all over. He was fine. Really.

John entered his quarters, turned on some Johnny Cash and reached into his mini-fridge for a beer. _I could always call Mitchell and we could hang out. Maybe catch a game. I wonder if he's still working on that Ford relic he's rebuilding._ He then spent several minutes drinking his beer and remembering the last time he spent a few days with Mitchell. He grinned slightly when he recalled how infrequently they actually left his apartment.

It didn't generally concern him when he found his mind drifting off in that direction, at least not all the time. It was just at certain moments it seemed like it was more than... well, more than whatever it was. Like when he thought he was dying - well, okay, that actually happened several times - or when his dad died. Or like when Teyla's son was born. He was thrilled that Teyla was back safe, touched by her naming her son Torren John, and happy about all her happiness. He didn't understand why he cried himself to sleep that night and dreamed of Mitchell. He blamed the whole confusing mess at the time on the drugs and effects of having Dr. Keller 'play with his insides'.

He'd met Mitchell in flight school and they'd run into each other now and then before the Stargate program. Those encounters always involved copious amounts of sports and booze. Which is precisely what they'd say when anyone asked. Neither one of them ever spoke about the sex. Not to anyone else, not to each other. It was the white elephant in the room whenever they talked of getting together to hang out.

Mitchell would also talk a lot about cars. He became animated when he talked about engine blocks, pistons and spark plugs. Sheppard listened, he really did. He mostly listened to Mitchell's voice and used it as an opportunity to stare at the man's mouth.

Since John had been on Atlantis, they kept up a steady stream of email conversations. These were usually three sentences or less and Mitchell's were accompanied by video highlights of various football games. Off season, he sent random video clips of car races and movie trailers. He even sent one of Teal'c eating ice cream and Vala trying to steal a spoonful. Apparently Mitchell got really bored during the off season. In emails they didn't mention 'hanging out'.

Finishing his beer, he looked around his quarters and decided to rearrange the furniture. Another by-product of his thoughts about Mitchell, although he'd be damned if he knew the correlation. A shrink would probably know, but he wasn't going to go there.

"Colonel Sheppard".

John tapped his earpiece. "Go ahead, Chuck."

"A call for you from the SGC."

"On my way." He moved towards the door.

"It's a private call, not official. I can pipe it to your quarters, sir."

"OK. Thanks." He moved to his desk and tried to ignore the way his heart leapt when he saw Mitchell's smile on the screen. "Hey," was all he could manage.

"Hey yourself. Heard you were in the neighborhood for a while." Mitchell was sitting on a stool in what appeared to be a lab and was tossing around something that looked like weapon. _He must be hanging out at the SGC, pestering the scientists._

"Yea," John smirked, "you know how it goes."

Mitchell smiled back. "So, you want to hang out?"

His heart leapt before, but now it hammered so loud in his chest he was sure Mitchell heard it, too. "Sure."

"The AFC championship game is tomorrow and I've upgraded to high-def..."

*******

**Cheyenne Mountain, Saturday afternoon**

If it weren't so sad, it would've been a whole lot funnier. Sam and Cam had just spent an entire hour talking about Daniel and Vala and how clueless both of them seem to be. Cam refused to think of it as a gossip or bitch session, but it kind of degraded to one while trying to determine who was the more thick-headed of the two.

As usual, Sam defended Daniel. "I can see why Daniel is being reluctant. His romantic involvements haven't always turned out well for him."

"Oh that's such a thin excuse. Jackson's gone to bat for her too many times over the past couple of years for that to hold much water anymore."

Sam looked Cam straight in the eye. "I think Vala is just biding her time and waiting for Daniel to figure it out. She's stopped hitting on all the marines, you know."

Cam laughed. "I'm not buying it, and I think Landry talked with her about the marines. She's not the most subtle person and Jackson can read her."

Now it was Sam's turn to laugh. "No he can't. He's as befuddled as Walter is when she walks into a room. Daniel's just better at masking it. And," she leaned in as if to whisper some tantalizing secret and Cam realized the conversation was entirely too far gone to not be considered gossiping, "I think they've started talking in code."

"In code?"

"You know. Secret lovers always have their own language, codes, signals."

_Football. Car talk. Hanging Out._ Cam thought of the last time he and Sheppard were at that bar down on Academy Boulevard. Sheppard noticed Cam peeling the label off his beer bottle, gave him a look and changed the subject to cars while Cam closed the tab. _Sheppard really isn't all that interested in cars._ Fifteen minutes later they were back in Cam's apartment.

Cam returned his concentration to the issue at hand and looked at Sam, "And you know this because...."

Sam chewed on the bottom of her lip. "You tell anyone, I will kill you."

Cam laughed and put up his hands in a surrendering gesture, "Scout's honor."

"Seriously. Kill. You. I know at least 32 planets where I could hide the corpse."

Cam decided he didn't care if it was called gossiping or not, he couldn't resist these bitch sessions with Sam. "Just tell me, already!"

"I am not working on, nor consulted on, nor am even aware of any plans for the SGC to build a base on the moon." She stood straight and folded her arms over her chest as if she had just made a proclamation that was supposed to make sense to him.

"I don't get it."

"It's code talk for..." she hesitated and looked at the door to make sure no one was walking in the hallway.

Cam laughed. "For what? Having hot sex in the supply closet or something?" Sam blushed, turned to fiddled with her keyboard with one hand and pick up her coffee cup with the other.

"Oh my god! It is!" Cam leaned back and laughed louder and harder than he had in weeks.

"The point is that I think they've started talking in code."

Cam continued to laugh while Sam contemplated her cup of coffee like it held the secrets to the universe. Abruptly, she changed the topic. "What are you sticking around here for anyway? Suddenly my lab is the most interesting place on the planet? What about that girl Vala said you were seeing? Amy?"

Cam's shifted uncomfortably. _I'm waiting for Sheppard to call._ "Sam. I'm disappointed. She's a woman, not a girl. And I haven't spoken with her in months." Cam picked up a gadget from a box of parts and inspected it closely. "This that plasma torch model you're working on with Bill Lee?"

Sam nodded and finished her coffee. "I wonder what happened after we died. In that other timeline. Did you marry? Have a family? The report was rather unclear."

"What's with all the random tangents, Sam? Something on your mind?" _Maybe Sheppard wasn't planning on calling him while he was on base. Still, it's the most logical place to find him, isn't it?_

"The rest of the team died, who else am I going to wonder about?" she gave him a sad smile. "You've been melancholy and moody since you read that report. I'm guessing that you didn't like thinking about spending a life without someone."

"What makes you guess that." _Last time Sheppard was on Earth, we watched the Ravens and the Steelers. It wasn't that good of a game. I can't even remember who won, but I remember Sheppard smiled. I remember he wore blue jeans and a black shirt and that he smiled._

Sam shrugged. "Call it women's intuition. You should just call whoever it is, Cam. Even if you haven't spoken with them in months, you should call them."

Then Cam realized what this conversation meant. He stood up and pointed the model plasma torch in her face only a little playfully. "You all have been having these little 'sessions' about me, haven't you? Who's involved? Vala? Jackson?" he snorts, "I thought we just established they can't see what's right in front of them."

"Maybe they're not the only ones." She stood, "I've got to get this report to Major Davis and these files to Dr. Lee. Just pull the door shut when you leave, Cam." She leaned over and kissed his cheek before leaving the room.

Cam looked at his watch. He knew the briefing on Atlantis with the IOA ended 4 hours ago. _Ah, the hell with it. Despite missing the target, Sam's got a point._ He swiveled Sam's lab stool around and placed a video conference call to Atlantis.

While he waited for the technician to put him through he rehearsed what he wanted to say. Sheppard was a man of few words while Cam always tended to fill up the silence spaces. _Hang out. Football. Sex. Missed You._ Of course, the last two were for his 'inside voice' only, Sheppard would probably bolt to another galaxy if he ever uttered them aloud.

After a few agonizingly nerve-wracking moments, Sheppard's face came into focus on the screen. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. Heard you were in the neighborhood for a while." Cam struggled to sound casual.

"Yea, you know how it goes." Sheppard gave him one of those half smiles that made Cam want to shove him up against the nearest wall and rip all his clothes off.

"So, you want to hang out?"

"Sure."

"The AFC championships start tomorrow and I've upgraded to high-def... or we could go for a road trip."

"Road trip?" Sheppard acted like he'd never heard of the concept before.

"I finally finished restoring my Mustang. Fly to the Springs and I'll drive you back to Atlantis."

"OK. But we're not driving through Las Vegas. Find another route."

 

*******

**Southbound, I-25, New Mexico, Sunday late afternoon**

"Pull over."

"OK, next stop is..."

"Pull over now!" John reached into the back seat, grabbed Cam's leather coat and started searching the pockets.

"Mind telling me what you're looking for?"

He pulled out Cam's PDA. "The map." He studied it not offering further explanation and looked up at Cam, "Did you do this on purpose?"

Cam couldn't read his expression behind the sunglasses John wore. "What are you talking about?"

John handed him the PDA. "That sign back there said 20 miles to Las Vegas and you're an asshole." Thankfully not enough of an asshole for John to get out of the car.

"Seriously? I thought you wanted to avoid Las Vegas, Nevada. Figured it was because of that parallel universe thing, the Wraith signal, Detective whatever. I can't help it if there's a Las Vegas, New Mexico on our way down to Route 40."

"You did this on purpose."

"And you're not making any damned sense." Cam moved to start the car.

"Wait." John took a deep breath and rested his head on the back of the seat.

Cam could see that John's actually freaked out by this and it unnerved him. "You want to turn around?" Cam asked quietly.

John lifted his head only to stare straight ahead. He glanced down at his watch and then finally at Cam. "I want to go find a cheap motel in Las Vegas, New Mexico. If this hunk of metal is as good as you say it is, we can catch the end of the game." _I hope you know that means I want you to face this stupid 'broken-man' demon with me. Well, that and some sex would be nice._

"OK."

"Mitchell... I..." John glanced out the window of the passenger seat and stared into the desert for a few moments. He looked down and took off his sunglasses. "I am not that broken shell of a man that died alone in the desert. I will not end up like him."

"Of course not." _Just like I'm not spending a lifetime somewhere stupid where I can't know you. I'm here. And so are you._ "I won't let you."

"That's kinda what I was hoping you'd say." John put his glasses back on.

Cam started the car and pulled back onto the highway filling up the silence. "I can't believe you called her a hunk of metal. She's a 10 second car, you know - zero to sixty in 10 seconds. I know what you're thinking, that it's not possible, but Sam and I tweaked the intake valves..."

John just listened and let the sound of Cam's mid-western drawl drift over him. Then he did something he'd never done before. He reached over and for just a few moments he held Mitchell's hand.

*******

**The Lucky Seven Motel, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Sunday, evening**

The cable was out at the first hotel they try, and there's no vacancy at the second. Finally, they found the Lucky Seven a few miles off the highway. It was a one-story motel that was in desperate need of a paint job. John was unlocking the door when Cam's pocket started chirping.

Cam checked the caller ID and placed the phone to his ear. "Mitchell," he said into the phone as he followed John into the room. Cam tossed his duffle bag next to John's on the only bed in the room. John set a six-pack on the dresser.

"So, you're still avoiding the issue." Sam's voice sounded irritated. Instead of taking the bait, Cam decided to be cheery and sarcastic.

"Hi Sam. Nice to hear from you. I'm fine, how are you?" John checked out the bathroom, turning on faucets and tried not to eavesdrop.

"Avoidance. Thy name is Cameron."

"Fine. What are you talking about Sam? What issue?" John stopped pretending not to be paying attention. Cam waved him down mouthing the words 'not serious' to him. John shrugged, picked up the ice bucket and walked out the door.

"I saw you ride off with Colonel Sheppard. I didn't realize he's such a good a friend of yours."

"We hang out sometimes."

"A year on Atlantis and the only non-work things that man ever spoke about where beer, sports and surfing."

"What? No death-defying aeronautical stories."

"I was classifying those stories under 'work'.

"Ah. Well, that pretty much sums up the topics of conversation I get out of him, too. He is trying to read _'War and Peace'_ while he's there. Did you know that?"

"No. I didn't. How far has he gotten?"

"Last I heard, he was up to page 42."

Sam laughed. "Well, have fun boozing it up and talking football. But I want you to promise me you'll think about what I said earlier."

"And what was that, Sam?"

"Love is scary, Cam. But it's worth it. Call whoever it is that makes your heart ache so badly and stop being alone."

"Who says that isn't precisely what I've done?" _I wish I could see the look on her face right now. I bet it's somewhere between 'shock' and 'awe'._

"In fact," he looked out the window at John who was returning from the ice machine, "I'm thinking of going full speed ahead and really opening up the throttle. Wish me luck."

Cam almost started laughing at his own joke when he realized that a few seconds had gone by in silence. He began to worry he'd lost the connection. "Uh....Sam?"

"Is he there right now?"

Cam looked up at John as he opened the door to the room, a bucket of ice in his hands. "Sheppard's out getting ice. Why? You wanna talk to him?"

John closed the door loudly, intending to be heard over the phone. Cam threw a pillow at him when John made a gesture for him to get off the phone.

Sam paused, her mind racing with this new information. "I get the picture, but don't think we're done talking about this."

"OK, Sam," he laughed.

"One more thing."

"What's that?"

"When you're opening the throttle, don't forget to kick on the afterburners." Best friends could talk in code, too. Sam knew he'd know she was wishing him luck and smiled as she hung up.

***end***


End file.
